Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

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Gyms can be intimidating. Work can be overwhelming. Time can be a limited resource. These elements can impede one from a healthy lifestyle, however that lifestyle may not be as difficult to maintain as you may think. Below are some tips for living and sustaining a healthy lifestyle:

Be In The Know

It is important to know if you are susceptible to any diseases or conditions, or have any heighten risks due to family history. Be sure to find out all you can from your family members, and ask your physician as many questions as you can think of.

Get to moving!

You have to find a way to sweat for 30 minutes to 1 hour 4-5 days a week. Mix in resistance (weight) training at least twice a week and yoga at least once a week to ensure are muscle is being built. Nothing burns fat faster than building muscles. The myth that weights make you huge should not discourage you from adding weights into your routine, even if that weight is your body weight in the form of pull-ups or pushups. Sweating increases the need to replenish, so drink plenty of water. An easy formula for daily water consumption is to divide your body weight in half, and drink that number of ounces. For example, a 150-pound woman should drink approximately 75 ounces daily.

Don’t Diet

Skip the fad diet and concentrate on a well balanced, realistic meal plan. EAT BREAKFAST! Studies show eating breakfast eat better throughout the day and have healthier body weights. Cook your meals as opposed to going out to eat. Make sure your meals are colorful. The many colors in vegetables are a sign of a multitude of nutrients. Drink green tea daily and supplement your diet with 1,000 IU of Vitamin D to lower cancer risk.

Floss, Brush, Rinse

Brushing is good for the pearly white smile, but you must floss and use antibacterial mouthwash daily so to kill unhealthy bacteria that could live in your mouth. The risks don’t stop at bad breath and tooth decay. Those bacteria can also lead to heart disease.

Have Fun

Social networks are invaluable to overall well-being. No, not Facebook or Twitter. I am talking actual human interaction. A “social life” is often used as an excuse not to work out, but dancing is encouraged! Get out there and burn those calories by laughing and dancing. However, limit the alcohol intake. You don’t need the extra sugar intake or calories.

Beauty Rest

Rest is just as important as hitting the gym. A lack of sleep increases ghrelin levels, which causes those undeniable cravings for fattening comfort foods. Also, proper rest increases mental clarity, memory, and allows muscle recovery. Seven to eight hours of sleep per night is ideal.

Stay Encouraged!

Stick with it! You can do it. Pay attention to how your clothes fit, and your improvements in the gym. The pounds on the scale may not reflect how healthy you are becoming. Patience is essential to results. Be sure to surround yourself with other motivated individuals, or find people in your workout group to form a “healthy” competition with. You owe it to yourself to live a healthy life!